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For many years now, I have had a mostly-humble approach to life in general. That's something that has been reproached to me as a flaw more than once, especially in the workplace. But I am stubborn apart from mostly-humble, and anyway I have also become of age and I am not planning to change the way I am. Still, the truth is that I have been inhabiting this entertaining and multi-coloured beer microcosm for a long time now, and my self-esteem has grown during this period. In fact, I'm starting to be smug about it. I don't know if you get what I mean.

Let's continue with the series of posts dedicated, as its name suggests, to people who I have had the occasion to meet in the beer scene and that, for one reason or another, I admire. Today it's about a person I met two years ago in Holland, during the celebration of the Borefts Bier Festival 2013. We were both in front of the Savoy Mont Salève stand and quickly began a passionate conversation about beer: festivals, personal tastes, trends in our respective countries, and so on. " 'Balanced' is more than often an eufemism for bland and boring beer "

The Kinks is one of those rock groups of the early 1960s that were part of the famous British Invasion: a phenomenon in which various British cultural expressions, mostly music, gained enormous popularity in the United States. It would be foolish of me to venture and say if they profited or not from the utter success of The Beatles, but in any case it is clear that while the former remain world famous almost 50 years after dismantling the group, the others are quite unknown to the vast majority (disclaimer: here in Barcelona). Or not quite.

José Benedicto, a fellow beer blogger from Spain and prolific rater at Ratebeer, summons the digital beer enthusiasts once again to celebrate the International Stout Day and share our impressions of Stouts drunk in the context of this event, both through blogs and social networks. Last year I commented that I couldn't see the motivation behind this event, but in this year's official website the organisers added a short description of what is sought, supposedly being the mere fact of celebrating a popular beer style like Stout. So on November 5th I joined the party.

I barely had had no time to digest new beer trends according to Draft Magazine, after the conclusion of the 2015 Great American Beer Festival, when I found myself face to face with one of them: a Lager aged in Scotch whisky barrels. Daring, but it certainly will give more prestige to brewers who are able to tune the beers that follow this line. Beside it, a much more present trend: a contemporary Saison, where in addition to its own characteristic yeasty profile, hops play a quite remarkable role. Finally, one of those styles that locally seemed grounbreaking just four years ago, causing lots of excitement among beer enthusiasts: a Black IPA, which shamelessly continues with that oxymoron of a popular name.

Believe it or not, the BBF team has been working for months already, on what will be the fifth edition of the festival: Barcelona Beer Festival 2016. Following our main aim to spread the culture of quality beer among the public, our efforts focus on preparing an inclusive event for everyone to enjoy, as always collecting the valuable feedback we receive from our demanding but appreciative visitors, who always look joyful in the pictures.
We have done lots of work, but we still have plenty of things to do. For now, we can already announce that we have the definitive venue and dates for the festival. And yes, I guess we can also announce a new huge newness for this year: the Barcelona Beer Challenge. "Today, terms like "craft" are not sufficient to position the quality of the product"

Many months ago I received some criticism for sharing in social networks a picture with which I expressed my joy for having found a five-pack Chimay Bleue with its respective gift chalice, at a price that seemed to amply repay my investment in money. The complaint was motivated by the fact that I made the purchase in a supermarket, causing therefore a disservice to small businesses, according to the offended parties.

I did not want to create controversy, I don't like yellow blogging, so the matter was settled quickly. Personally, while I feel more aligned with the need and the important social role of small local shops, I think that personal circumstances must not be ignored before making any judgment. Let's not forget that this is a perfectly respectable consumption decision.
"Beer retailers should play the role of curators: create a differential offer according to their judgement of what's best for their customers"